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God, tho' they had no qualities to answer that character; or believed they had fome divine power lodged in them; which feems to have been the notion of the vulgar; fo wretchedly ftupid were men grown. And there are too many idolaters yet remaining among us; who worship filver and gold, (for covetousness is idolatry,) or who make a god of their belly. They please themselves with the expectation of happiness in these things; but there is a lie in their right hand, and they find nothing folid to fupport their fouls upon. And thus many are alfo deceived in those things in which they truft for falvation. We should therefore often put this question to ourselves, Am not I deceived? is this not a lie in my right hand?' and should beg of God to search and try us, and fee if there be any evil way in us.

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3. The promises and hopes of pardon demand our warmeft gratitude and joy. What a bleffing is it to have our fins forgiven and blotted out! that cloud, which feparates between God and man, and intercepts the light of his countenance, difperfed! All nature is called upon to rejoice in the gospel promifes of forgiveness; they are the best tidings to guilty creatures: and if we have any reafon to believe our fins and iniquities are forgiven, our fouls fhould for ever adore the grace of God, who is ready to forgive, and of Jefus Chrift, thro' whofe blood we receive the remiffion.

4. We learn from the whole chapter, what high and venerable thoughts we should entertain of the great God. We should think feriously and reverently of him, as the eternal Jehovah; the first and the laft; as an omniscient Being, to whom future contingencies are known. He by his prophet foretold that Jerufalem and the temple should he destroyed; and named Cyrus, as the man that should deliver his people, and rebuild his temple. We should also adore him as an almighty Being, who maketh what use of princes he pleaseth, and can remove every hindrance to the execution of his purposes. Idols cannot do this, but our God can; let us therefore ever fear, reverence, and trust him; for whatever devices there are in the heart of man his counfel fhall stand, and the most powerful princes fhall only execute his pleasure.

CHAP.

CHAP. XLV.

In this chapter we have Cyrus's commiffion against Babylon, and to restore the jews; an account of his fuccefs, with fuitable admonitions to the Ifraelites.

I

T

AHUS faith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus,

whose right hand I have holden, to fubdue nations before him; or whom I hold fast by the right hand, that I may fubdue nations before him; and I will loofe the loins of kings, weaken their power, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates fhall not be shut; that is, the gates of Babylon within the city, leading from the streets to the river, which were providentially left open 2 when he furprised the city; I will go before thee, and make the crooked places ftraight; remove all difficulties and obftructions: I will break in pieces the gates of brass," 3 and cut in funder the bars of iron: And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of fecret places, the fecret wealth of princes and people, that thou mayeft know that I, the LORD, which call [thee] by 4thy name, [am] the God of Ifrael. For Jacob my fervant's fake, and Ifrael mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name Cyrus: I have furnamed thee, my shepherd and anointed, though thou haft not known me. 5 I [am] the LORD, and [there is] none elfe, [there is] no God befides me: I girded thee with authority and 6 power though thou haft not known me: That they máy know from the rifing of the fun, and from the weft, that [there is] none befides me. I [am] the Lord, and [there is] none elfe; intimating that the deliverance of the jews by Cyrus would promote the knowledge of God thro'

Babylon had an hundred brazen gates. Cyrus had fubdued rich Craefus and other nations before he tock Babylon; and that was a moft wealthy place; the treasures which he found there and in Sardis, amounted to one hundred and twenty fix millions two hundred and twenty four thousand pounds of our money.

JOSEPHUS fays that this prophecy was fhowed to Cyrus, and that he was much affected with it; he therefore, honeftly acknowledges, Ezra i. 2. The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth,

7thro' many nations. I form the light, and create darknefs: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all thefe [things;] I am the Supreme governor of the natural 8 and moral world. Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth falvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it: being determined to bring about their falvation, all nature fhall feem to unite in promoting it. I will first shower down righteousness, and then produce falvation; Ifrael fhall 9 first be reformed, and then delivered. Woe unto him that ftriveth with his Maker; woe to the Babylonians that shall opprefs Ifrael, and strive against God; or to the Ifraelites that fall diftruft his power, and will not believe his promifes. [Let] the potfherd [ftrive] with the potsherds. of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makeft thou? or thy work, He hath no hands? he hath no ability or skill, or acts as if he had none. 10 Woe unto him that faith unto [his] father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What haft thou brought forth? much more to the great Parent of the univerfe. Thus faith the LORD, the Holy One of Ifrael, and his Maker, Afk me of things to come concerning my fons, and concerning the work of my hands command

ye me; you may humbly enquire concerning these things; or rather, (as the Seventy) Will you question me, or give me a law ? 12 I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I,

[even] my hands have ftretched out the heavens, and all their hoft have I commanded, and therefore I am able 13 to fulfil my promises. I have raised him up in righteouf nefs, and I will direct all his ways: he fhall build my city, and he fhall let go my captives, not for price nor 14 reward, faith the LORD of hofts. Thus faith the LORD, The labour, or wealth, of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia, and of the Sabeans, men of ftature, fhall come over unto thee, and they fhall be thine: they fhall

This is defigned to expofe the notions of the antient Perfians, who held that there were two independent principles or beings, the one good, and the other evil, by which all things were made, and who were reprefented by light and darkness.

fhall come after thee; in chains they fhall come over, and they fhall fall down unto thee, they fhall make fupplication unto thee, like fubmiffive captives, [faying,] Surely God [is] in thee; and [there is] none else; 15 [there is] no other God. Verily thou [art] a God that hideft thyself, O God of Ifrael, the Saviour; tho' thy providence in afflicting and delivering is often dark and myfterious, yet thou art the God of Ifrael, and the Saviour. 16 They fhall be afhamed, and alfo confounded, all of them they fhall go to confufion together [that are] makers of idols, tho' they unite their attempts to fupport 17 the credit of their deities. [But] Ifrael fhall be faved in the LORD with an everlasting falvation: ye fhall not be afhamed nor confounded world without end, to the 18 ages of eternity. For thus faith the LORD that created the heavens God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited; much less then will hẻ Juffer Judea, his own inheritance, to lie defolate: I [am] 19 the LORD; and [there is] none elfe. I have not spoken in fecret, in a dark place of the earth; another proof that I am Lord alone, I have revealed my will plainly by the law and the prophets; not like the heathen myfteries, that were carefully concealed from the vulgar; nor like the oracles that were uttered with a hollow, muttering voice from holes and caves: I faid not unto the feed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain; I answered the prayers of my people, which idols could not do: I the LORD fpeak righteousness, I declare things that are right; my laws are just, my answers direct, and my promifes are faithful, but their's are not.

20

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Affemble yourselves and come, ye recovered jews; draw near together, ye [that are] efcaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that fet up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god [that] cannot 21 fave. Tell ye, and bring [them] near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from

antient

Cyrus, having conquered Egypt and part of Arabia, affifted the Ifraelites to rebuild and beautify the temple out of the fpoils of those nations; and many became profelytes, and were brought to acknowledge the only true God, when they faw that he appeary ed fo wonderfully for the jews.

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antient time? [who] hath told it from that time?. [have] not I the LORD? and [there is] no God elfe befides me; a juft God and a Saviour; [there is] none befides me; let them confult together to produce an inStance of foretelling fuch future events, and maintain the cause 22 of their idols. Look unto me, and be ye faved, all the ends of the earth; ye jews, wherever difperfed, and ye gentiles, when ye shall hear my gospel: for I [am] God, 23 and [there is] none else. I have fworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth [in] righteoufnefs, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue fhall fwear, that is, profefs allegiance: many nations fhall become my worshippers and fervants, and at length all the world, and at the day of the last judgment every 24 creature fhall be fubject to me, Rom. xiv. 11. Surely, shall [one] and another, that is, all thofe that fhall be converted from idolatry, whether jews or gentiles, fay, In the LORD have I righteousness and ftrength: [even] to him fhall [men,] that is, Ifrael, the church and people of God, come, and all that are incenfed against him fhall be 25 afhamed. In the LORD fhall all the feed of Ifrael, ali converted jews and believing gentiles, be juftified, and fhall glory, that is, be pardoned, and boast of their rela

I.

tion to him.

WE

REFLECTION S.

E fee the defign of God in his various difpenfations to the church and world; in his dealings with Ifrael and other nations. He can fet up kingdoms, and pull them down; raise up Cyrus, from a low beginning, to conquer great and mighty nations, and to deliver Ifrael. The defign was, to bring Cyrus to know him, and the nations round about to acknowledge his fupremacy and to worship him; as well as to cure the jews of their idolatry and were we as well acquainted with the hiftory of other nations, as with that of Ifrael, we should see the fame defign carried on in the revolutions of states and kingdoms, and the great events of the world.

2. We fee the danger of impatience and murmuring under

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